1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system wherein operation modes of a copying machine are set using an IC card.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the prior art to provide a copying system using an IC card, wherein setting information For a desired operation mode is stored on the IC card which the operator inserts into a card reader provided in the copying machine so that the copying machine is automatically set up in accordance with the operation mode setting information that the card reader reads from the IC card. (One such system is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-34556(1988)).
In a copying machine having such a function, if setting information for a frequently used operation mode is prestored on the IC card, the operation of the copying machine can be simplified since the copying machine can be set up for the desired operation mode just by loading the IC card and without having to take the trouble to go through various steps of operation.
However, the prior art copying machine using an IC card for operation mode setting has required such cumbersome operations as insertion and removal of the IC card for operation mode setting, and hence the problem, for example, that the operator tends to forget to remove the IC card from the machine after the copy operation.